lightning witch 02 - lightning legacy (24 page)

I blinked because I hadn’t even thought to question that. Both Reid and I looked to Monique. Reid had a look of shock on his face. Clearly, he hadn’t thought to ask this question either.

Monique shifted on her feet slightly as though the question rubbed her the wrong way.

After a moment, she spoke, "They did send someone for you. Me." It was like a punch to the gut. Reid went rigid next to me and he stepped in front of me. I put a hand on his back. He seemed to soften slightly at my touch.

“Explain.” Reid’s tone beseeched no argument. I sidestepped him so I could see Monique. She seemed so crestfallen.

“I understand this isn’t one-hundred percent what I told you, but please give me the benefit of the doubt.”

“We’re listening,” Troy responded in a clipped tone.

She took in a deep breath and explained, "They sent me to find you before you even called me. I made up my mind after Reid came to the Coven, and we found out it was Mitch, that I would leave the inner circle. Before I could though, I found out about the breeding program. I was sickened when they told me that was their main driving force for wanting you. Then they tasked me to find you. And I thought that I could keep them away from you if they thought I just hadn’t found you yet. I know I should have told all of you, but I did not want you to doubt my motivations. I’m here to kill Mitch and stop the Coven. Then you called me."

Our eyes met; hers were utterly unreadable.

"I knew it was bad, Delaney, I just wanted you to trust me to help you. I swear to you, I’m here to help." There was something off in her tone. I couldn't place it. Maybe it was my doubt or even the result of Mitch warping how I saw people. I nodded at her, not able to say anything.

Reid cleared his throat and said, “I believe you. I just wish you would have told us before now. But it does makes good sense to keep them off our backs until Mitch is dealt with.”

When he growled the words
“dealt with.”
It really left no question just how he wanted to deal with him.

“Welp, Little John …” Troy said, slapping Reid on the back, “Let’s go kill the sheriff of Nottingham.”

“Does that make you Robin Hood?” Reid asked, trying not to smile.

“Uh … duh? Have you seen my legs in tights? It’s pretty epic.”

We all tried to make this a serious situation, but with the image of Troy in tights, we all burst out laughing.

The ride home was filled with silence. I knew when I got to Troy’s we would finalize details and I would make my call. I had to trust that it would all come together. Because it had to. I wanted my face to be the very last thing that Mitch saw before he drew his last breath. And I wanted it to be filled with a smile.

THE SCENT OF
blood and piss greeted me.
God, how I love the scents of fear and carnage.
The stagnant air of the basement held on to scents as though it were Velcro. And with the two we had down there, the air was so thick with it I could almost feel it coat my tongue. I licked my lips as I descended the stairs. My beast seemed to stir with each step. It was all I could do not to lap the air with hopes of a small taste. The dark stairwell ended at a padlocked door. The door was laced with silver, as were all of the doors in this place. I slipped the small silver key into the lock and jerked it open. Had that been a normal lock, I would have smashed it to bits, but silver seemed to suck all of the strength and energy out of any werewolf; I was no exception.

The door opened to a short corridor with four rooms off of it; two on either side of the hallway. There was a larger room at the end of the corridor and that was where I was going. That was where the delicious scents were emanating from. I could hear the faint sounds of screaming, the sound of a blunt object hitting flesh, and the wet sound of the impact. It was like Christmas. I have had these two for a few days and each time I could inflict my frustration and pain on them was like a gift.

The door was unlocked, as I knew it would be. When I wasn't here, my second and third were. My new third was especially enthusiastic about his brutality. I couldn't be prouder of him.

The room was brightly lit. When doing this type of thing, one needed to see every last bit of the evidence left upon the body. Mark was chained with a mix of iron and silver. He was splayed out on the left-hand side of the expansive room. His arm, which had been lovingly severed, had begun to grow back. It would be fun to sever it again and again, along with other body parts. His wife hadn’t fared as well. Humans were just so fragile. We had disposed of her in short order. Her begging and pleading was annoying and got on my nerves. Now, there was one. And his torture could go on for eternity. The thought made me smile.

"Alpha, you look rested," Dillon remarked.

I surveyed the room and its occupants more fully now that my eyes had adjusted to the bright lights. I was wrong. My second wasn't here. My third and Anderson were here.

"I am, thank you. How is our guest?" I asked, walking over to Mark, who was slumped against the wall.

"Passed out, and it's no fun when he's unconscious," Dillon answered, heading over to a large metal table in the middle of the room.

There were several instruments laying on it and most of them were covered with a thick coat of blood. I wanted to run my tongue along the slick metal, lapping it clean of the delicious gleaming liquid. I resisted, but only just. Dillon flicked a hand under the faucet and water flowed forth, washing the sticky red substance clean from his finger.
What a waste
.

“Anderson, you talked to Delaney, correct?”

"Yes, sir, I did. She thinks the weres are rioting against you, and we will allow her to railroad you," he replied in a straightforward tone.

“And you told her we would be coming down there.”

"Yes, sir, I did."

“And she bought it?” I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh yeah. Without a question.”

"Good. Dillon, how many from the pack do we have going down there?"

He shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He didn’t even try to hide the discomfort he felt with this question. I knew no matter what his answer would be, I wouldn’t like it.

“I have contacted everyone a number of times. Out of the thirty or so we have left, I have heard from twenty.”

"Well, that's better than I thought you were going to say."

"Um … well … of those twenty, only eight confirmed. So, that makes about twelve."

Ah, there it was. The news that would piss me off. With Delaney, I had the means to take down the Coven, organize the weres and obtain power. Yet, there was my pack, jumping ship thinking there would be no reprisal. This pack was once the largest in the States. Now? We were nothing but a joke. I was seething. I could feel the anger building. Then I had an idea. I smiled with how simple it was. All of the pack knew how Mark betrayed me. They knew I had him, but they had no idea just what was being done to him. I would just have to show them.

"Anderson, go get a camera. Dillon, I think it's time they all see what will happen if they choose not to come."

I would send each and every member a reminder of just why it was not a good idea to say no to me, why you don’t fuck with me. I clenched and unclenched my fists. Without a word, Anderson left the room.

"We have very little time before the full moon. We need to have as much power as possible. The wolf I have observing Delaney said that she had two incredibly powerful witches with her. Both who look to have power equal to that of the inner circle. They could prove to be an issue. Also, he said Delaney has gotten stronger now that she has been mated to Reid." I snarled the last words. I should have forced her when I had the chance.

Did I honestly think the four of them could take twelve of us? It was possible, but not likely. Delaney's power was out of this world. She couldn't kill me. I was her maker. It was physically impossible for her to do so. The other three could though, and would likely try. Monique, the dumb twit, had settled her loyalty with them, and she had left the inner circle to do so. She was so undyingly loyal to the group of old assholes that it somewhat surprised me. But there was nothing like a scorned ex-lover.

"Yes, sir, I think this video is a good idea but, um …" He trailed off, seeming to take care with his words. Good too, as I was in a volatile mood and would likely chain him up with Mark. "... Um, to be honest, I think it might be too late. The pack is restless. Some of them didn't like the witch being here and didn't agree with it. The ones who did, well, now that she's gone, they don't trust that you can deliver on the promises you have made."

My fist hit the metal table. The whole table buckled and caved in at the impact.

"Promises! I’m their fucking alpha! When I say jump, they fucking ask if they can get me a coffee first!" I was roaring and didn't care.

"I know, alpha. I’m in this with you. I’m just telling you that since the night you changed the witch, we lost half our numbers. And because you were engaged with her, you did nothing about the loss. They are losing respect and fear of you."

My vision went red, and before I could stop myself, I had Dillon pinned against the wall with my hand around his throat. I could squeeze him here so fast that his neck would crunch and squish between my fingers. With a jerk of my hand, his head would pop off like a grape. My beast threw itself at the bars of the cage. He was desperate to get out and kill. I was only moments away from letting him.

“Mitch …” The word was strangled.

It was an annoying buzz in my ear.

"Mitch." The word penetrated the red haze.

I released my grip slightly. I could feel a frantic pulse just under my fingertips. I breathed in a deep lung full of air. I released the grip fully and backed away. It wasn't Dillon, it was his words. They were the truth. He leaned forward, gasping for air. There was a slow, methodical laugh that filled the room. It was Mark. He had clearly awakened and found something funny about the situation. Now I had something I could take all of this pent-up aggression out on.

I smiled at him. "Oh, it's a shame your wife is no longer with us. You know how much I love a human's blood." He yanked his chains, trying to lunge for me. In his weakened state and with the silver that was both confining him and coursing through his veins, he wasn't able to do more than annoy the hell out of me. He was like a fly buzzing just by my ear, and no matter how many times I swatted at it, it never went away.

“Mitch, you’re an evil bastard.”

“Mark, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You know I would be shocked if you had even a third of the pack backing you. It’s pathetic really.”

I knew what he was doing. He was goading me, trying to get me to lose my cool and kill him. Oh, he would die, just not anytime soon. Maybe I would overnight his head just like I did his hand. The thought of the look of horror and fear on Delaney’s face got me hard as fucking steel. I wanted her to fear me. I could honestly say I got off on it.

I was about to respond when Anderson came into the room with a small flip camera. I smiled at him, then back at Mark.

"Are you ready for your close-up?" I asked, giving him my best predatory smile. I licked my lips at the thought. I couldn't help it.

"Bring it, asshole."

Oh, bring it, I will
. Anderson hit the record button, and I unbuttoned my shirt. No need to get ugly stains all over the white button-down. I breathed in a deep breath and, to Mark's credit, there wasn't a hint of fear. But there would be, oh there would be. And I couldn't wait.

I NEARLY BROKE
the door with how fucking pissed off I was. That asshole hadn’t even had the decency to piss himself or scream the whole time I tortured him. But with little time, the video would have to do. It would rally nearly twenty wolves, because it had to. We had no other options. I threw my blood-covered clothes in the laundry and grabbed some athletic shorts and a shirt. I was rounding the corner and nearly ran smack into Anderson.